Greenberg was born May 24, 1978,[1] in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. the son of psychologists Denise "Denny" (b.1951) and Carl Greenberg (b.1950).[2][3] He is Jewish and was raised in Conservative Judaism.[3] Growing up, he attended Beth El Synagogue in Omaha. He had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, belonged to Jewish youth groups, went to Jewish summer camps where he acted in theater productions, and traveled to Israel.[4]
At seven years old, Greenberg appeared in the lead role in the Omaha Ballet production of The Nutcracker. He toured with the show for two months and later joined a children's theater company in Omaha. At age 12, Greenberg and his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he got his first major role in a nationally-broadcast Cookie Crisp cereal commercial.[2]
While at NYU, Greenberg auditioned and worked as a waiter, bartender, caterer and assistant to a mortgage broker.[3] He was cast as Romeo in NYU's performance of Romeo and Juliet and performed with the Experimental Theater Workshop, the Atlantic Theater Company and the Amsterdam Experimental Workshop.[5]
In 1997, he got a small role on the television series Law & Order. Soon after this appearance, Greenberg got an agent and one year later made his big screen debut in A Civil Action.
After landing small roles on several TV series (Boston Public, The Sopranos, and Third Watch among others), Greenberg was cast as Matty Matthews, a high school student trying to pass the SAT exam, in the film The Perfect Score. After graduating from NYU, Bryan moved to California.[2] While he was still appearing in One Tree Hill, he began shooting another television show produced by George Clooney for HBO called Unscripted.[6]
His series How to Make It in America premiered on HBO on February 14, 2010.[11]The Washington Post called it "The New Yorkiest thing you could find on television, which is saying something," and praised its "portrayal of a dirty, scrappy, multi-ethnic New York culture."[12]The New York Times said the "series has great music (the theme song is Aloe Blacc’s 'I Need a Dollar') and there are some snarky asides about hipster New York."[13] Season 2 premiered on October 2, 2011.[14] On December 20, 2011, HBO announced the cancellation of the show.
In 2012, Greenberg co-starred with Laura Prepon in the independent comedy film The Kitchen. That same year, Greenberg starred in the dark comedy film The Normals, which follows a young man who enters a two-week clinical trial of an anti-psychotic treatment at a drug-testing center in Queens.[15]
In 2013, Greenberg began shooting the untitled Lance Armstrong biopic alongside Ben Foster, who will play Armstrong.[16]
In 2007, Greenberg released his debut album, Waiting for Now. He has toured with Gavin DeGraw, Michael Tolcher, Ari Hest, and Graham Colton. At his New York City Show at the High Line Ballroom, Greenberg was joined by How to Make it in America co-star Kid Cudi. Greenberg's songs have been featured in many of his film and television work, including One Tree Hill, October Road, and Nobel Son.
In 2011, Greenberg released his second album, We Don't Have Forever, produced by Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Devendra Banhart, Gary Louris), which included the single "Walk Away". The album also included "You Can Run", a collaboration with How to Make It in America co-star and rapper Kid Cudi.[18][19] Greenberg said he wrote the record over a period of two years when he was experiencing many changes in his life and decided to title the record We Don't Have Forever to reflect that.[20]
^Williams, Alex (September 28, 2011). "Costumes for a Kid-Cool World". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2014.